Hopefully NICE will decide that it isn't cost-effective to spend all that money on statins. (It works these things out using a formula that works out how much it costs versus how many years of decent-quality life are added with the intervention.) It would make their task easier if there was a randomised controlled trial comparing a low-fat diet intervention with statins, but I don't believe there is one. The evidence as it stands shows that statins do work to stop people dying of heart disease.

Are they insane!? I thought it must be April 1st for a moment. If they'd seen what they can do to people - my mother lost her sight (thankfully temporarily) due to the effect on her muscles and suffered a lot of other side effects as well. Bloody moronic brainwashed doctors.

Based on a meta-analysis, which are far from being definitive. Would be good to know how old are the studies. Any drug trial conducted before the protocols were improved after the vioxx scandal is suspect. Using any in a meta-analysis makes that analysis suspect

Four years Primal with influences from Jaminet & Shanahan and a focus on being anti-inflammatory. Using Primal to treat CVD and prevent stents from blocking free of drugs.

No, actully its a great plan, think of all the money they will save by not having to pay out years of benifits to all those retired people if they shorten their life 5-10 years

Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory, & I'm seriously beginning to wonder about this one. Statins, stents & official diet advice are all relatively cheap ways of making people die younger, & the only aid to quitting smoking that's really effective (e-cigs) is the only one that isn't endorsed by the NHS. The result, as you say, is a big saving in pension & benefits costs.

A decently-performed meta-analysis is quite definitive, as long as you stay within the bounds originally set. It's a bit of a leap from 'statins are better than doing nothing' to 'statins are a better and more cost-effective means of reducing deaths from heart disease than other interventions such as lifestyle change'. The paper quoted addressed only the first proposition. NICE, rightly, will be looking at the second proposition as it analyses this paper. It is under absolutely no obligation to take any heed of the recommendation in this paper's conclusions.

typo

As long as I can sell my prescribed statins on to someone who feels they genuinely need them without making a loss, I'll roll with it. If the NHS gives them away in an attempt to force them down my throat then I'll make a tidy profit selling mine on.